Download or read book The State of Local Democracy in the Western Balkans written by Elena Gadjanova and published by . This book was released on 2006 with total page 266 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A prime political objective of the EU is to bring long-lasting stability to, and foster democratisation in, the Western Balkans. This study provides a snapshot of the state of democracy at the local level in Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, Serbia (including Kosovo) and Montenegro. It examines a number of factors such as: degree of fiscal and legal autonomy; provisions for citizens' involvement in decision-making; implementation of minority rights; civil society; media. It also looks at the strength and salience of central state institutions, issues of self-determination and ethnicity, and past international involvement. An analysis of the achievements and challenges to democracy at the local level is done on a country-by-country basis.
Download or read book The State of Local Democracy in Central Europe written by Gábor Soós and published by Local Government and Public Service Reform Initiative. This book was released on 2002 with total page 488 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Dotyczy m.in. Polski.
Download or read book The State of Local Democracy in Central Europe written by Gábor Soós and published by . This book was released on 2006 with total page 521 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:
Download or read book The Rise of Authoritarianism in the Western Balkans written by Florian Bieber and published by Springer Nature. This book was released on 2019-09-30 with total page 169 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This book explores the stagnation of democracy in the Western Balkans over the last decade. The author maps regional features of rising authoritarianism that mirror larger global trends and, in doing so, outlines the core mechanisms of authoritarian rule in the Balkans, with a particular focus on Serbia, Montenegro and Macedonia. These mechanisms include the creation of constant crises, the use of external powers to balance outside influences, as well as state capture. The authoritarian patterns exist alongside formal democratic institutions, resulting in competitive authoritarian regimes that use social polarization to retain power. As the countries of the Western Balkans aspire, at least formally, to join the European Union, authoritarianism is often informal.
Download or read book The State of Local Democracy in the Western Balkans written by Elena Gadjanova and published by . This book was released on 2006 with total page 238 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A prime political objective of the EU is to bring long-lasting stability to, and foster democratisation in, the Western Balkans. This study provides a snapshot of the state of democracy at the local level in Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, Serbia (including Kosovo) and Montenegro. It examines a number of factors such as: degree of fiscal and legal autonomy; provisions for citizens' involvement in decision-making; implementation of minority rights; civil society; media. It also looks at the strength and salience of central state institutions, issues of self-determination and ethnicity, and past international involvement. An analysis of the achievements and challenges to democracy at the local level is done on a country-by-country basis.
Download or read book Hunger and Fury written by Jasmin Mujanović and published by Oxford University Press. This book was released on 2018 with total page 243 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Less than two decades after the Yugoslav Wars ended, the edifice of parliamentary government in the Western Balkans is crumbling. This collapse sets into sharp relief the unreformed authoritarian tendencies of the region's entrenched elites, many of whom have held power since the early 1990s, and the hollowness of the West's "democratization" agenda. There is a widely held assumption that institutional collapse will precipitate a new bout of ethnic conflict, but Mujanovic argues instead that the Balkans are on the cusp of a historic socio-political transformation. Drawing on a wide variety of sources, with a unique focus on local activist accounts, he argues that a period of genuine democratic transition is finally dawning, led by grassroots social movements, from Zagreb to Skopje. Rather than pursuing ethnic strife, these new Balkan revolutionaries are confronting the "ethnic entrepreneurs" cemented in power by the West in its efforts to stabilise the region since the mid-1990s. This compellingly argued book harnesses the explanatory power of the striking graffiti scrawled on the walls of the ransacked Bosnian presidency during violent anti-government protests in 2014: 'if you sow hunger, you will reap fury'.
Download or read book Covid 19 State Power and Society in Europe written by Neven Andjelic and published by . This book was released on 2022 with total page 0 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This book explores the current state of society in Europe in general and the regimes and societies of the Western Balkans in particular. The pandemic and near-universal lockdown have provided an ideal cut-off date for the collection of indices from reputable academic sources that cover the nature of these regimes, individual human freedoms, economic freedoms, the rule of law, human rights and media freedoms. The aggregated findings from the 20 individual indices provide comprehensive data to support original findings and the characterisation of societies in 45 European states. Admittedly, there are differences in the methodologies and samples among the indices consulted. Nonetheless, taken together they offer a solid basis for developing arguments concerning the diversity of regimes, governance and societies in Europe and drawing well-founded conclusions on the nature of society in various parts of Europe. Though the book's main focus is on the Western Balkans, the region is put in a pan-European context. The issues of migration, minorities, global geopolitics, the crisis of liberal democracy - they all play into developments that are specific to the Western Balkans. The book answers the question of whether the pandemic has allowed local regimes to strengthen their power and exert greater control over society, making it possible to formulate arguments regarding the future of Europe and its integrative processes. In closing, the book investigates Western Balkan regimes' reactions to the pandemic in the context of governance, society and state power, before addressing the question of whether the future of the Western Balkans lies in the "liberal club", or whether local hybrid regimes will become even more influential in the near future.
Download or read book Bibliography of Sources on the Region of Former Yugoslavia Volume III written by Rusko Matuli? and published by Xlibris Corporation. This book was released on 1998 with total page 350 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:
Download or read book The Council of Europe written by Martyn Bond and published by Routledge. This book was released on 2012-03-12 with total page 207 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The book provides a succinct and much needed introduction to the Council of Europe from its foundation through the early conventions on human rights and culture to its expansion into the fields of social affairs, environment and education. Founded in 1949 within a month of NATO, the Council of Europe was the hub of political debate about integrating Europe after the Second World War. After the Berlin Wall came down in 1989, it was thrust into the limelight again as the test bed where all newly liberated European states had to prove their democratic credentials. Now it is the political arena in which the closely integrating states of the European Union face the twenty European states still outside the EU. Its European Court of Human Rights hands down judgments which all member states must respect, and its monitoring activities report on conditions concerning democracy, human rights and the rule of law across the whole continent. The Council of Europe has negotiated international agreements against the death penalty, torture, corruption, cybercrime and terrorism. It works for political pluralism, media freedom and fair elections. The treatment for minorities, efficient local government and strengthening non-government organisations are part of its daily agenda. Today the states of Greater Europe come together to discuss their present and their future in the Council of Europe Providing a wealth of factual information and describing and analysing the key debates within the organization, this work will be of great interest to students and scholars of international organizations, European politics and international relations.
Download or read book Civil Society and Transitions in the Western Balkans written by V. Bojicic-Dzelilovic and published by Springer. This book was released on 2013-01-11 with total page 167 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This book explores the ambiguous role played by civil society in the processes of state-building, democratization and post-conflict reconstruction in the Western Balkans challenging the assumption that civil society is always a force for good by analysing civil society actors and their effects in post-communist and post-conflict transition.
Download or read book Democracy in Times of Pandemic written by Miguel Poiares Maduro and published by Cambridge University Press. This book was released on 2020-11-12 with total page 219 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Examines the most important democratic challenges of today, using the Covid-19 pandemic as a case study.
Download or read book Illiberal Politics in Southeast Europe written by Damir Kapidžić and published by Routledge. This book was released on 2021-09-30 with total page 248 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The world is increasingly becoming less democratic and this trend has not left Southeast Europe untouched. But instead of democratic breakdown what we are witnessing is a gradual decline and the rise of competitive authoritarian regimes. This book aims to give a country-by-country overview of how illiberal politics has led to a decline in democracy and the re-emergence of autocratic governance in Southeast Europe, more specifically in the Western Balkans. It defines illiberal politics as the everyday practices through which ruling parties undermine democratic institutions in order to remain in power. Individual chapters examine recent political developments and identify practices of illiberal politics that target electoral institutions, rule of law, media freedom, judicial independence, and enable political patronage, while several thematic chapters comparatively explore cross-regional patterns. This book addresses academics, policymakers, and practitioners with professional interest in Southeast Europe or democratic decline and is both timely and relevant as the European Union attempts to reengage with the countries of the Western Balkans. The chapters in this book were originally published as a special issue of Southeast European and Black Sea Studies.
Download or read book Western Intervention in the Balkans written by Roger D. Petersen and published by Cambridge University Press. This book was released on 2011-09-30 with total page pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Conflicts involve powerful experiences. The residue of these experiences is captured by the concept and language of emotion. Indiscriminate killing creates fear; targeted violence produces anger and a desire for vengeance; political status reversals spawn resentment; cultural prejudices sustain ethnic contempt. These emotions can become resources for political entrepreneurs. A broad range of Western interventions are based on a view of human nature as narrowly rational. Correspondingly, intervention policy generally aims to alter material incentives ('sticks and carrots') to influence behavior. In response, poorer and weaker actors who wish to block or change this Western implemented 'game' use emotions as resources. This book examines the strategic use of emotion in the conflicts and interventions occurring in the Western Balkans over a twenty-year period. The book concentrates on the conflicts among Albanian and Slavic populations (Kosovo, Montenegro, Macedonia, South Serbia), along with some comparisons to Bosnia.
Download or read book Citizenship and the Legitimacy of Governance written by Italo Pardo and published by Routledge. This book was released on 2016-05-23 with total page 227 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Against the background of unease at the increasingly loose and conflictual relationship between citizenship and governance, this book brings together rich, ethnographic studies from EU member states and post-Communist and Middle-Eastern countries in the Mediterranean Region to illustrate the crisis of legitimacy inherent in the weakening link between political responsibility and trust in the exercise of power. With close attention to the impact of the ambiguities and distortions of governance at the local level and their broader implications at the international level, where a state's legitimacy depends on its democratic credentials, Citizenship and the Legitimacy of Governance initiates a comparative discussion of the relationship between established moralities, politics, law and civil society in a highly diversified region with a strong history of cultural exchange. Demonstrating that a comparative anthropological analysis has much to offer to our understanding, this volume reveals that the city is a crucial arena for the renegotiation of citizenship, democracy and belonging.
Download or read book Democracy at the Local Level written by Timothy D. Sisk and published by International IDEA. This book was released on 2001 with total page 268 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In today's globalising world, there is growing emphasis on local democracy. More than ever, cities need new ideas for ways of managing the political challenges and opportunities that arise from increased urbanisation and globalisation. Governing effectively at the local level is all the more urgent as vigorous local civic engagement builds the foundation for a strong and more enduring national-level democracy. Organised into six chapters and written by experts from around the world this handbook offers: practical suggestions for designing systems of local governance; principles and policies for managing culturally diverse cities; choices for enhancing local elections and representative democracy; options for expanding citizen participation; recommendations for the international community for enhancing local democracy.
Download or read book Democracy Good Governance and Development in Africa written by Mawere, Munyaradzi and published by Langaa RPCIG. This book was released on 2015-10-24 with total page 422 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Questions surrounding democracy, governance, and development especially in the view of Africa have provoked acrimonious debates in the past few years. It remains a perennial question why some decades after political independence in Africa the continent continues experiencing bad governance, lagging behind socioeconomically, and its democracy questionable. We admit that a plethora of theories and reasons, including iniquitous and malicious ones, have been conjured in an attempt to explain and answer the questions as to why Africa seems to be lagging behind other continents in issues pertaining to good governance, democracy and socio-economic development. Yet, none of the theories and reasons proffered so far seems to have provided enduring solutions to Africa’s diverse complex problems and predicaments. This book dissects and critically examines the matrix of Africa’s multifaceted problems on governance, democracy and development in an attempt to proffer enduring solutions to the continent’s long-standing political and socio-economic dilemmas and setbacks.
Download or read book The European Union Neighbourhood written by Professor Teresa Cierco and published by Ashgate Publishing, Ltd.. This book was released on 2013-05-28 with total page 348 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The European Union in its neighbourhood is confronted with several challenges as well as opportunities. The degree to which it can promote the geopolitical stabilization of Europe and the spread of economic and political governance, based on democratic ideals in its neighbourhood, will determine the future course of Europe and will be a clear indicator of the success or failure of the European Union on the international scene as a whole. In addition, the security context of Europe has changed profoundly since the end of the Cold war, and with it the perceptions of what role the European Union can play in expanding stability and security throughout the European continent. European Union’s neighbouring states and regions are viewed by European Union member states as the primary source of many of the non-traditional security threats, such as terrorism, migration, trafficking, and transnational organized crime. Addressing the Europe Union’s twenty-first century challenges, this study looks at the policies of the EU towards its neighbours as a critical dimension of the totality of the EU’s foreign and security policy. This volume brings together a broad range of scholars and seeks to highlight some of the main issues that concern the European relations with its neighbour’s countries in the Western Balkans, the Eastern and Southern Europe, and with Russia. In short, the volume raises important, timely issues regarding the challenges and opportunities confronting the European Union in its neighbourhood which both policy makers and academicians will find both informative and though provoking in their efforts to understand the nature and complexity of the European Union actions in its neighbourhood.
